Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, there will be precious little bipartisan agreement in the House today as we begin the upcoming rescission debate, so it is very appropriate we recognize our bipartisan moments as we find them. The proposal before us to reduce committee staffs by one-third clearly represents one such moment. We in the 104th Congress must show that when it comes to reducing Government spending, the cuts start here. Last session, as a freshman in this body, I fought for reductions in the legislative branch appropriations. While some headway was made, frankly I did not feel the cuts went far enough. Today, in a new Congress, I am happy to be part of an effort to make meaningful reductions in the amount Congress spends on itself. I particularly want to commend my friend, Chairman Bill Thomas, and the majority caucus, for their support and leadership on making these reductions. Quite clearly, we could not have done it without you. I also commend Ranking Member Vic Fazio and my colleagues in the minority caucus for supporting these reductions. It is time to make these cuts. I urge all Members to join me in supporting these cuts.”